Dal palak is a simple, highly nutritious and comforting bowl of Indian spiced lentil curry/soup with added spinach for wholesome goodness. Paired with a hot steaming bowl of rice or any Indian flat bread, it is a soothing and a tasty side dish for lunch or dinner! I love dal or lentil/dried bean curries and can have bowls of them any time! Dal curry is an all-time favorite in our family, especially my sons who love this creamy, mildly spiced curry. Come dinner time, and when I needed something nutritious to have with some chapattis or rotis, dal curry was the most in demand.
Spicy dal curry can be made with toor dal/split pigeon peas or even masoor dal/red lentils, but my favorite is moong dal or split mung bean dal. Today, to amp up the nutrition quotient ( and I had a lovely fresh bunch of spinach in my fridge), I decided to stir in some finely chopped spinach in the cooked dal . I love greens any time and adding spinach to soups and pulaos is my way of enjoying this “Popeye’s favorite” to any meal! Just sauté some onions with a few spices like cloves, cumin, hing etc.; add chopped tomatoes along with some spice powders like coriander powder, chilli powder and my all-time favorite curry powder – Kitchen King Masala powder (you can find these in Indian grocery stores or even online). If you do not have this, no need to rush to the grocery store, sprinkle any curry powder you have in your pantry. Add the cooked and mashed dal (a pressure cooker will minimize the cooking time drastically) and once the curry has simmered for a few minutes to allow all the spices and flavors to blend, mix in some chopped spinach (as much or as little as you want) and give it one boil.
Stir in some dried fenugreek leaves and you are done! Hot, soothing and comforting bowl of mung bean dal curry with lots of “Popeye’s favorite” spinach (full of iron, vitamins, minerals and fiber) is ready. This is a good way for kids to have their greens too! Enjoy this curry with rice, rotis, parathas etc. and if you do make this, try and share it on my Facebook page, leave your comment in the box below or Pin it to try later. Happy Cooking!
Step-by-step method to make Dal Palak Curry:
Soak moong dal or mung bean dal in water for 15 minutes and then cook in a pressure pan until soft and well cooked. Mash and keep aside. If you are short on time, you can skip the soaking.
In a large deep kadai or saucepan, heat oil/ghee and once hot, stir in cumin seeds, cloves and hing powder. Sauté until aromatic and add onions, garlic, ginger and slit green chilies. Fry on medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and cook again until they are slightly soft. Add the dry powders; coriander, kitchen King, red chilli and turmeric powders and mix well. Sauté on medium heat until the spices are well fried and you can see oil or ghee starting to separate.
At this stage, stir in the cooked and mashed dal along with 1 ½ to 2 cups of water until you get the desired consistency you want. Season with salt, mix well and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, stir in the finely chopped spinach leaves and give it a good stir. Simmer on medium low heat for about 5 minutes. Just before removing from heat, add garam masala powder and amchur/chaat masala powder, mix well. Garnish with finely crushed fenugreek leaves.
Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon/lime juice, and dunk your rotis, parathas in it or even mix into some hot rice for a heavenly Indian meal! Some more dal curries you can try: Tadkewali Masoor Dal Curry Chilkewali Mung Dal Gujarati Khatti Meethi Dal Curry
If you like my posts and recipes, do not forget to Pin, Share, comment in the box below or like my Facebook page Cook Time: 15 minutes
1 cup split moong dal/mung bean dal 1 small bunch of fresh spinach leaves/palak 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds ½ tsp hing/asafetida powder 4 cloves 1 tsp grated or finely chopped ginger 1 tsp finely chopped or grated garlic 2 large green chilies slit 1 medium red onion, finely chopped 2 small tomatoes, finely chopped 1 tsp red chilli powder 1 tbsp coriander powder ½ tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp MDH Kitchen King masala powder (or any other curry powder you have) Salt to taste ½ tsp garam masala powder ½ tsp Chaat masala powder/amchur powder 2 tbsp oil or ghee (or a combination of both) 1 tbsp crushed kasoori methi/dried fenugreek leaves Coriander leaves/cilantro for garnishing (optional) Lemon wedges
Instructions Notes Adjust the amount of spices and consistency of dal according to personal preference. For a vegan option, use only oil and omit the ghee. By, Vanitha Bhat
Sharing this lip-smacking curry with #RecipeoftheWeek | Angie’s #FiestaFriday along with cohost Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.
